Coffee Area Coffee House 珈琲院 (Taiwan –Taichung)

February 19, 2013

On the 3rd day of our sponsored Whirlwind 5D4N trip to Taiwan, we arose bright and early to make the best of a beautiful day. Seriously, a blue sky day with cold crisp air just makes my heart sing! I was all raring to venture out, but we had to pack our tummies with a little something first because the 1st stop of the day was to go coffee tasting!

Coffee Area Coffee House (15)

Actually, we didn’t just get the opportunity to sample freshly brewed coffee, we got to witness the ENTIRE coffee roasting process from bean to brew!

Coffee Area Coffee House (6)

This is the boss of Coffee Area. He is an extremely jovial character, with a rather humorous streak. The shop is only open from Wednesday to Sunday. We visited on a Tuesday and we heard that he’d specially opened his shop just for our visit. This is a rare treat because we were told that Taichung people are laid back, many of whom work for fun and not for a living. You will find that when you are in Taichung, shops may not open all hours of the day just to cater to customers or to generate the most amount of profit. On the contrary, people are friendlier than in Taipei.

Don’t mind the camera man at the back. He filmed us the whole of our third day in Taiwan. Felt a little like a celebrity! Smile

Coffee Area Coffee House - Portable mini coffee roasting machine (4)

This is the portable roaster. I used to think that coffee roasting was a very complicated process best left to the experts, but after viewing this contraption work its magic, I feel compelled to purchase one of these babies.

Coffee Area Coffee House - Portable mini coffee roasting machine (2)

First you feed the roaster with fresh beans. Notice that when the coffee beans are fresh, they are green. Coffee Area Coffee House - Portable mini coffee roasting machine (3)

A closer look at the inside of the roaster. There is a flame under the roaster, and the beans get spun around at high speed within the roaster for even distribution of heat. The coffee bean colour chart on the left indicates the various changes in colour of the coffee beans.

Coffee Area Coffee House - Portable mini coffee roasting machine (5)

You probably can’t notice the difference, but these coffee beans have been roasting for about 3 minutes already. The entire process takes about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the machine and the heat source of course.

Coffee Area Coffee House - Portable mini coffee roasting machine (8)

There comes a point when the coffee beans start smoking, but this isn’t because the beans are burning. The smokiness is caused by the escaping moisture from the beans.

Coffee Area Coffee House - Roasted Coffee Beans (3)

The beans are more or less done.

Coffee Area Coffee House - Roasted Coffee Beans (2)

The freshly roasted coffee beans! Notice that the skins of the beans have flaked off. They have to be extracted and must not be ground.

Coffee Area Coffee House - Grinding the coffee beans (4)

Here comes the elbow grease part. Guess I have to earn the right to enjoy a cuppa. But it’s actually quite fun. It just takes a few minutes of grinding, and when all the coffee beans have been ground into a fine powder, the handle can be swung around without any pressure at all.

Coffee Area Coffee House (19)

After the beans were ground, it was time to brew the coffee and sample it!

Coffee Area Coffee House (23)

Pretty good cup of coffee. Had a hint of sweetness and berry undertones.

Coffee Area Coffee House (28)

There was time to also sample some coffee brewed the Turkish way.

Coffee Area Coffee House (29)

Not my cup of tea if you ask me. It was too bitter, and the dregs were floating all around!

Coffee Area Coffee House (3)

Coffee Area Coffee House (25)

Trying to evoke the Feeling…

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Read about the rest of my sponsored trip to Taiwan here, sponsored by the Isee Taiwan Foundation.

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Coffee Area 珈琲院

Address : 台中市西區存中街165號

No. 165, Cúnzhōng St, Xi District Taichung City, Taiwan 403

Telephone : (04) 2376-1273

https://www.facebook.com/coffeeareatw

Directions to Coffee Area

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9 Comments

  1. 妳好,我是珈琲院的湯先生:
    當日行程匆忙,未能好好招待大家,
    改天有空再來台中時,記得要再來喔~^^

    • 嗨,湯先生:

      來臨的9月我將與我男友到台中旅玩。我們對您的Coffee Workshop 有興趣。想問問是否有能直接聯絡您的方式嗎?

      謝謝。 🙂

  2. Hi!
    I am going to TaiChung in this coming SEP. I am very interested in joining the workshop.
    Do you mind telling me if I need to book the workshop timing beforehand?
    And, is there anyway that I can contact mr. Tang?

    Thank you! 🙂

  3. Hello

    I am going to tai Chung in September and would like to attend coffee roasting. Please give me the contact for mr tang. Thanks!

    • Hi Angela! When are you going? Do u mind going with me and my boyf? Because it is a four persons course. So we are looking for two more persons.

      Drop me an email at sharonts39@gmail.com? 🙂

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